{"id":589307,"date":"2026-04-08T02:22:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T02:22:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/589307\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T02:22:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T02:22:14","slug":"tony-khan-reveals-why-chris-jericho-chose-aew-over-wwe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/589307\/","title":{"rendered":"Tony Khan Reveals Why Chris Jericho Chose AEW Over WWE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Chris Jericho had options\u2014but according to Tony Khan, his decision to stay with All Elite Wrestling<\/a> came down to one thing: it\u2019s where he wanted to be.<\/p>\n

After months of speculation linking Jericho to a possible return to WWE, a new update has now clarified how everything played out behind the scenes. Speaking on The Coach and Bro Show on April 7, 2026<\/a>, Khan addressed how close Jericho actually was to leaving AEW\u2014and made it clear that the final call wasn\u2019t about pressure or last-minute negotiations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do know Chris Jericho had a choice, and he wanted to be in AEW. He would be the best person to ask, but I know that I\u2019ve been in communication with Chris, and he definitely told me he wanted to be in AEW\u2014and very specifically in Winnipeg on that day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Khan then pointed to how long this decision had been in the works, suggesting Jericho\u2019s preference wasn\u2019t something that changed overnight: \u201cWe had that circled back for a long time, going back to last year. It was a choice that Chris made, that he\u2019d rather be in AEW than anywhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n

While earlier reports confirmed Jericho did speak with WWE and even had the chance to explore his options, Khan noted that the decision ultimately came down to Jericho\u2019s own priorities\u2014not just contract terms.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t say for sure, Coach, exactly what his mind was, but I know definitely he has been consistent\u2014he loves AEW and wants to be here, and I\u2019m glad he chose AEW.\u201d<\/p>\n

Khan closed by making one key point clear\u2014Jericho wasn\u2019t locked in when this decision was made: \u201cBecause that\u2019s a choice he made, because he was a free agent.\u201d That update reframes everything.<\/p>\n

While reports previously suggested AEW\u2019s stronger financial offer helped secure Jericho<\/a>, Khan\u2019s comments shift the focus to Jericho\u2019s personal decision\u2014choosing AEW even with WWE in the picture. With Jericho now staying put, the speculation is over\u2014but the bigger takeaway is just how competitive things got behind the scenes before that call was made.<\/p>\n

Do you think Chris Jericho staying in AEW was the right move, or would a WWE return have been the bigger play for his career? Share your thoughts and feedback below.<\/p>\n

Please credit Ringside News<\/a> if you use the above transcript in your publication.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chris Jericho had options\u2014but according to Tony Khan, his decision to stay with All Elite Wrestling came down…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":589308,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[49,48,50133,75,86360],"class_list":{"0":"post-589307","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-chris-jericho","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-tony-khan"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=589307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589307\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/589308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=589307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=589307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=589307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}